Re: MDADM RAID1 of external USB 3.0 Drives
Linux-Fan <Ma_Sys.ma@web.de> writes:
>> On 09/29/2014 12:56 AM, lee wrote:
>
> I cannot tell much about the reliability of SMART data in general but
> should I see a lot of "bad" values suddenly appearing I would
> immediately perform some additional backups and check the data more
> closely, listen to the drive sounds etc.
Taking precautions like that might be a good idea.
> I have 6 GB and a certified upgrade (trying to avoid further mistakes :)
> ) adding 3x4 GB costs about 200€ (adding 3x2 GB also costs about 200€).
> Also, I have not checked if it is OK to run 3x2 GB (currently installed)
> and additional 3x4 GB from the BIOS' point of view. I sometimes think
> about investing in the expansion but then always come to the conclusion
> that it is rarely useful: Sometimes I want to run many VMs and sometimes
> I want to run ZPAQ with the strongest compression levels. That's about
> the only use cases I currently have for more than 6 GB of RAM. Also, I
> fear that my CPU might then become the next bottleneck and I normally do
> not upgrade CPUs.
Tough choice ... The money might be better spent on a server, depending
on what you're doing.
>>> I will try to reproduce such a mouse or keyboard issue first because
>>> that seems easier to do and requires less preperation in terms of backup
>>> (I will do it on a dedicated testing machine).
>>
>> Hm, interesting :) I wouldn't know how to reproduce it. One of the
>> major slowdowns on this machine seems to be graphics. Perhaps I need to
>> look into using an appropriate driver for the graphics card. The latest
>> version of Libreoffice (4.x, not the ancient one that's in Debian) might
>> be somehow involved in this. Take a spreadsheet with like 2000 rows,
>> apply some filters, mark all the lines displayed and you are kinda stuck
>> because the machine is too slow to let you do something, like going into
>> the Edit menu to copy what's selected. You have to be extremely patient
>> then ...
>
> I have also had laggy experiences with missing (or outdated) graphics
> drivers. PS/2 did not seem to make any difference in that cases.
> (Graphics on Linux is a complex topic itself causing quite a few
> instabilities in my experience)
I think I figured it out: The USB stuff was actually going to sleep and
remained unresponsive once it fell asleep, until a reboot. I used
powertop to disable the power management for USB and didn't have any
further issues since.
It might be worthwhile to check just to make sure that your disks aren't
disconnected at some time because something goes to sleep ...
>>> And rather than any "data-format" failing, I always worry about the
>>> programs failing (or going missing) to read the data when it is
>>> necessary.
>>
>> Failing in which way? The data being so old that the software which was
>> used to create it isn't available anymore?
>
> Either that or the data being only readable by software which is not
> available without extensive installation or system modification, special
> licenses etc.
That can be a problem ... So far, I pretty much managed to get around
it, with very few exceptions.
> I do not like Windows either, but it is /common/. This means that if I
> ever lose data and system and need to rely on the backup, it will be a
> great advantage to be able to recover at least the essential parts from
> a Windows machine which is easier to get access to than a Linux machine.
Even with live DVDs and the like?
> Interestingly, I also know of a 512 MB and a 1 GB stick which are old
> and still working. The ones, I saw failing were one 16 GB model and a
> few 2 GB models all of which were built when 16 GB costed less than 40€,
> i.e. they were rather "new".
Last time I looked into buying an USB stick, I found out that I'd be
better off buying an USB disk because the sticks were so expensive and
their capacity relatively low, so I bought an USB disk. The USB disk
failed shortly after I got it ...
--
Hallowed are the Debians!
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